Talks underway for Tony Bellew vs David Haye rematch

TALKS have begun in earnest to stage a rematch between bitter rivals Tony Bellew and David Haye after the Liverpudlian upset the odds back in March by stopping Haye.

Bellew, who moved up from cruiserweight to fight Haye, stopped the former two-weight king in the 11th round after David ruptured his Achilles tendon in the sixth.

Haye is back on the mend and insists he will fight before the end of the year. Bellew now has many lucrative options ahead of him, including a return with the ‘Hayemaker’.

“We’re talking about them all, to be honest. Eddie’s just going through them to see which one’s the best and which one will work. Yeah, we’re talking to Haye so we’ll see what happens,” Bellew’s trainer, Dave Coldwell, told Boxing News.

“From his [Haye’s] point of view especially, after all the biggun he gave it, he can’t move forward without coming back against Tony. But it’s gotta be fair. For all his talk in the ring immediately after the fight, it seems to be completely different now. We’ll see what can develop and how things move but Tony’s got options and he’s exploring them to be honest.”

WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker is another option for Bellew after their respective teams met recently. However the New Zealand native must first get past unbeaten mandatory challenger Hughie Fury on September 23 – no foregone conclusion by any stretch.

For now, Bellew is keeping himself in shape ready for a return to action, which looks set to be in either November or December.

Coldwell said: “Tony’s back in training, as in ticking over, he’s been doing his strength and conditioning work for quite a while now, doing a couple of boxing sessions a week for now.”